Sealable folded carton

ABSTRACT

Sealing means for a reclosable folded carton wherein a flap is provided in the front panel of the carton, the flap being folded along its tear line against the front panel, and the cover for the carton being adhesively secured to the folded flap. Upon opening, the flap is severed along its tear line and, after severance, the severed flap provides additional friction to keep the cover tight upon reclosing. Also, opposite side panels of the carton are provided with cut scores surrounding glue spots for preventing the sides of the cover from flaring. Upon cover opening, the cut scores permit easy breakaway.

United States Patent 72] Inventor Charles W. Rosenburg, Jr.

North Tonawanda, N.Y. [21] Appl. No. 25,531 [22] Filed Apr. 3, 1970 [45] Patented Jan. 11, 1972 [73] Assignee F. N. Burt Company, Inc.

Buffalo, N.Y.

[54] SEALABLE FOLDED CARTON 4 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 229/33, 229/44 [51] Int. Cl 823k 19/00 [50] Field of Search 229/33, 44 CB, 51 RC, 17,44

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,523,636 8/1970 Phillips, Jr. 229/44 CD X Primary ExaminerEvon C. Blunk Assistant Examiner-Hadd S. Lane Attorney-Watson, Cole, Grindle & Watson ABSTRACT: Sealing means for a reclosable folded carton wherein a flap is provided in the front panel of the carton, the flap being folded along its tear line against the front panel, and the cover for the carton being adhesively secured to the folded flap. Upon opening, the flap is severed along its tear line and, after severance, the severed flap provides additional friction to keep the cover tight upon reclosing. Also, opposite side panels of the carton are provided with cut scores surrounding glue spots for preventing the sides of the cover from flaring. Upon cover opening, the cut scores permit easy breakaway.

SEALABLE FOLDED CARTON This invention relates generally to folded cartons and more particularly to a means for sealing a folded carton upon closing, said sealing means also providing additional friction to keep the cover tight upon reclosing.

For cartons or containers formed by folding blanks of sheet material, some means is usually provided for securing the lid or cover in place after closing. Such securing means has been effected by gluing together the overlapping panels between the cover and container so that when the flap is opened the glue portion is torn away. Not only are sealed cartons of this type difficult to open but it has been found that some portion of the overlapped walls may become weakened or mutilated in the vicinity of the carton contents during the opening as the glued fiber from one of the overlapped walls is torn. Accordingly, tear strips having lines of weakening have been developed for opening sealed cartons of this type so as to effeet a clean break of the seal or holding means for the cover without weakening the carton in the area of the seal. Most of these tear strips, however, require additional amounts of carton blank material which only tends to complicate design of the carton. The cost of producing such cartons therefore increases because more material is needed and because of the additional steps required for assembling such cartons by the customer. Besides, the sometimes unsightly appearance of such tear means may have an effect on marketing such a carton. Accordingly, any object of the invention is to provide a folded carton which may be securely sealed by a means which remains completely hidden from the user when the carton is closed, provides a clean and effective break upon opening, reduces the amount of blank material necessary for such seal and provides additional friction to keep the cover tight upon reclosing.

Another object of this invention is to provide a sealable folded carton comprising upstanding sidewalls and a bottom wall with a cover hingedly secured along one of the sidewalls, the cover having depending sidewalls for overlapping with the upstanding panels, one of the upstanding panels being provided with sealing means comprising a tab folded against the outer surface thereof and adhesively secured to the inner surface of the overlapping depending wall of the cover so that, upon opening, the tab is thereby removed from the upstanding wall.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such a scalable folded carton whereby the removable tab serves also to increase the frictional engagement between the cover and the remainder of the carton upon reclosing, the tab being defined by a pair of spaced apart cuts extending from the free edge of the one upstanding panel to a tear line provided for the tab.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide such a sealable folded carbon wherein each of the cuts forming the tab are equal to substantially one-half the width of the overlapping depending cover sidewall so that the free edge of the tab and the free edge of such wall are coincident upon closing of the cover and therefore not visible to the eye of the customer when the cover is sealed.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide such a scalable folded carton wherein additional securing means are provided on opposing upstanding sidewalls which comprise spots of glue surrounded by score lines thereby forming plugs which, when the lid is closed, serves to prevent flaring of the lid in such areas and when the lid is opened, are removed from the opposing walls thereby permitting a clean tear of the tab along its tear line without interference from the glue spots.

Other objects, advantages, and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a blank cut and scored for folding a carton according to the present invention, the tab being shown slightly turned up for clearly depicting the adhesive securing means thereon;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the folded carton just before its cover is closed and sealed in place;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the closed and sealed carton of FIG. 2;

FIGS. 4 and 5 are partial sectional views taken substantially along the lines 4-4 and 5-5 of FIG. 3 showing details of the sealing means and the glue spots, respectively; and

FIG. 6-is a perspective view of the folded carton after the cover has been opened.

Turning now to the drawings wherein like reference characters refer to like in corresponding parts throughout the several views, there is shown a blank 10 of sheet material in FIG. 1 having various fold lines 11a for forming the bottom panel 12 of a container having adjoining side panels 13, a back panel 14 and a front panel 15. Ears 13a, 14a, and 15a are each provided with a quantity of adhesive so that the respective side, back, and front panels, after being folded upwardly along their foldlines as shown in FIG. 3, may be conveniently secured to one another. The lid or cover 16 is hinged to back panel 14 along a fold line 17 and sidewalls 18 for the lid are each folded inwardly along their respective fold lines 19 as shown clearly in FIG. 2 and held together in any convenient fashion as by ears 18a having a quantity of adhesive thereon. Boxes of this type are conventionally formed and, therefore, form no part of the present invention. However, it is to be understood that shapes other than the hexagonal shape shown in the drawings can be provided with a sealing means of the present invention without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The sealing means comprises a tab 21 formed as a portion of the front panel 15 and defined by a pair of spaced apart slits 22 extending between the free edge of the front panel 15 and a tear line 23 which also serves as a fold line for the tab as seen clearly in FIG. 2 of the drawings. Before closing the lid 16 down over the carton, the tab 21 is folded outwardly so as to overlie the outer face of the front panel 15 as shown in FIG. 2 which is also clearly shows that the outer surface of the folded tab is provided with a quantity of adhesive. Accordingly, when the cover 16 is folded down, after the intended contents have been introduced, the inner surface of the depending wall 18 which overlaps the front panel 15 will be adhesively secured to the tab 21 by simply exerting a slight pressure from the outside of such depending cover wall and the carton as shown in FIG. 3, with its contents, will be sent to the customer. FIG. 4 clearly shows the type of joint between an overlapping depending wall 18 and the tab 21 wherein adhesive is provided only between the elements 18 and 21, there being no need for adhesive, for example, between elements 21 and 15. Also, it can be seen from FIG. 6 of the drawings that upon opening of the lid the user merely applies a slight upward force beneath the free ends of the elements 18 and 21 and, lifting upwardly, causes the tab 21 to be removed along its tear line 23. It can be also seen from FIGS. 4 and 6 that the free ends of both the tab 21 and the overlapping wall 18 of the cover are substantially coincident when the cover has been closed which, of course, remains so after the cover has been fully opened. The length of each of the cuts 22 have been therefore designed as substantially equal to one-half the width of the overlapping wall 18. Upon reclosing, therefore, it can be seen that the removed tab 21 which remains adhered to the inner surface of the overlapping wall 18 provides a slight buildup between the overlapping wall 18 and the front panel 15 thereby serving to maintain the cover in a slightly tighter position.

In FIG. 2 and especially in FIG. 5, it can be seen that a cut score 24 is provided in a pair of opposing sidewalls 13, each of the scores 24 being circular and surrounding a spot of glue for the purpose of adhesively securing the rearmost overlapping depending wall 18 of the lid in place. Accordingly, any tendency for these cover walls to flare after the lid is closed will be substantially avoided. Also, as can be seen in FIG. 6, each of these circular scores 24 define a plug 25 which results by the removal of the glue spot upon opening of the lid. Accordingly, these removable plugs 25 serve to enhance the easy opening of the lid during the tearing of the tab 21 without any interference from the two glue spots.

From the foregoing, it can be seen that a sealable and, neatly reclosable folded carton has been devised in a manner which is simple, economical to manufacture, requires less blank material and is simple in its design. The folded tab 21 is not only hidden from the user before opening but, because it is simply defined by a pair of spaced-apart cuts in the front panel of the carton, requires no additional material as compared to prior art designs. Also, because the tab 21 remains adhesively secured to the inner surface of the overlapping wall 18 after opening, the thickness of such wall is substantially doubled so that upon reclosing the cover may be maintained in a tighter condition as compared to prior art devices. Furthermore, the glue spots on the opposing upstanding panels 13 ensure against any possible flaring of the rearmost depending walls 18 of the cover after the cover has been closed. Of course, only a slight pressure against these rearmost panels is necessary to adhesively join the two overlapping elements together. Because the glue spots are removable, any interference with a clean and smooth opening of the lid during removal of the tab 21 is substantially avoided thereby.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in the light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims the invention may be practiced otherwise than specifically described.

What is claimed is:

1. A sealable folded carton formed of a one-piece blank and having a bottom panel and sidewall panels interconnected along fold lines with said bottom panel and being interconnected together to form a container, a reclosable cover panel hingedly interconnected to said container along a fold line at the top edge of one of said sidewalls, said cover panel having sidewall panels interconnected therewith along fold lines and being interconnected together, means for sealing said cover to said container being located on one of the other of said container sidewalls, said sealing means comprising a tab formed integrally only with said container other sidewall, said tab being defined by spaced vertical slits on said container other sidewall and a line of weakening extending between said slits, said tab lying on the outer surface of said container other sidewall by being bent outwardly along said line of weakening, a quantity of adhesive on the outer surface of said tab in its outwardly bent position, whereby said cover may be sealed to said container when closed thereover as the inner surface of one of said cover sidewalls is brought into adhesive contact with said tab adhesive, and whereby said cover may be opened from said container as said tab is torn along said line of weakening, said tab thereby remaining adhesively secured to said sidewall inner surface.

2. The sealable folded carton according to claim 1 wherein the length of each of said slits is substantially equal to one-half the width of said cover one sidewall whereby the free edge of said tab is substantially coincident with the free edge of said cover one sidewall when said cover is closed.

3. The sealable folded carton according to claim 2 wherein additional sealing means are provided on a pair of opposing container sidewalls, said additional sealing means comprising a spot of adhesive surrounded by a score line thereby forming removable plugs which adhere to the inner face of those cover side walls which overlap said opposing sidewalls for preventing said cover sidewalls from flaring when said cover is closed.

4. The sealable folded carton according to claim 3 wherein said plugs are removed from said opposing sidewalls when said cover is opened thereby assuring an easier and more accurate removal of said tab during opening. 

1. A sealable folded carton formed of a one-piece blank and having a bottom panel and sidewall panels interconnected along fold lines with said bottom panel and being interconnected together to form a container, a reclosable cover panel hingedly interconnected to said container along a fold line at the top edge of one of said sidewalls, said cover panel having sidewall panels interconnected therewith along fold lines and being interconnected together, means for sealing said cover to said container being located on one of the other of said container sidewalls, said sealing means comprising a tab formed integrally only with said container other sidewall, said tab being defined by spaced vertical slits on said container otheR sidewall and a line of weakening extending between said slits, said tab lying on the outer surface of said container other sidewall by being bent outwardly along said line of weakening, a quantity of adhesive on the outer surface of said tab in its outwardly bent position, whereby said cover may be sealed to said container when closed thereover as the inner surface of one of said cover sidewalls is brought into adhesive contact with said tab adhesive, and whereby said cover may be opened from said container as said tab is torn along said line of weakening, said tab thereby remaining adhesively secured to said sidewall inner surface.
 2. The sealable folded carton according to claim 1 wherein the length of each of said slits is substantially equal to one-half the width of said cover one sidewall whereby the free edge of said tab is substantially coincident with the free edge of said cover one sidewall when said cover is closed.
 3. The sealable folded carton according to claim 2 wherein additional sealing means are provided on a pair of opposing container sidewalls, said additional sealing means comprising a spot of adhesive surrounded by a score line thereby forming removable plugs which adhere to the inner face of those cover side walls which overlap said opposing sidewalls for preventing said cover sidewalls from flaring when said cover is closed.
 4. The sealable folded carton according to claim 3 wherein said plugs are removed from said opposing sidewalls when said cover is opened thereby assuring an easier and more accurate removal of said tab during opening. 